BSP MP's wife arrested following maid's death

The wife of a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) parliamentarian was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly torturing her maid to death and beating another minor servant with sticks and rods, police said.

Jagriti Singh, wife of Dhananjay Singh, who represents Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh, was arrested on Tuesday and booked under the sections of murder, attempt to murder and the Juvenile Justice Act for beating and torturing her maid Rakhi (35) and Rampal (17) for days.

<p>The wife of a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) parliamentarian was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly torturing her maid to death and beating another minor servant with sticks and rods, police said.</p>

The police received a call from the MP's flat number 175, South Avenue in south Delhi on Monday night informing them about Rakhi's death.

"Rampal told us that Rakhi had died. He said the accused (Jagriti Singh) used to beat and torture her (Rakhi) and him," said a police officer.

Rampal also said the beatings had been going on for several months and Rakhi finally succumbed to her injuries on Monday night.

The police confirmed the body sent for post-mortem bore injury marks.

Meanwhile, Dhananjay Singh refuted the charges levelled against his wife.

"I got a call last night that the maid had fallen and died. I rushed back home and informed the police. Now they are doing their job," he said, adding the maid was working at his residence for around a year.

According to police, on Sunday night Jagriti beat Rakhi and Rampal over a petty issue with iron rods and sticks. She also used an iron press and horns of a dead animal while beating them. Both of them received grievous injuries on their bodies.

However, Jagriti who holds a Bachelor in Dental Surgery degree, instead of taking them to hospital, gave them first aid at home.

Rakhi of West Bengal was employed nine months ago through a placement agency while Rampal had come from Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi.

A maid working in another house said that Jagriti used to torture her maid and servants. Few months back, a maid left work because of the same reason.

Police said, Jagriti was staying with her son and servants in the flat allotted in name of Dhananjay Singh. There were marital discord between the couple for the past seven months and Dhananjay is living in another flat.

Jagriti is a second wife of Dhananjay, whose first wife committed suicide in 2007.